I am thinking about chickens, but I don't think I want to do the one of each kind thing. I have a spot where I can do a 4x8ft run and put a raised 4x4 hen house in or above it for 3-4 chickens. Shaded in the summer but it gets some sun in the winter. Urban/ Suburban boundary so the main predators will be my own idiot dogs but there are some raccoon around. Rodents too.

I figure they'll have a run with a house above it. If I can get the run secured, I was planning on leaving the house door open. During the day they can free range the yard as long as I can keep them out of the berries in season. 6 foot fence, but there are trees near the fence line. I see other chickens not escaping in similar situations though.

Barred Rocks, very common around here.
Red (RI, NH or Star?) maybe a little more flighty?
Dominique? Classic, I can get them, but egg laying seems less than the others.
Easter Eggers? Ugly tufts, and they seem to fly more than the others?

This is Oregon, where we have 8 months of wet. Some say that the Orpington isn't as good in that situation.

I actually think the tufts on ameracaunas are beautiful. I really like black sex-linked for personality as well. There are really so many cool breeds, I would say if egg laying isnt super high priority (meaning you dont have to have top of the line production) just go for looks. The frizzles and silkies and polishes are all IMO really cool looking but they are hard to find sexed.

__________________"We possess the power
If this should start to fall apart
To mend divides
To change the world
To reach the farthest star
If we should stay silent
If fear should win our hearts
Our light will have long diminished
Before it reaches the farthest star"-Ronan Harris, NVN Nation

We have three baby silver laced wyandottes here. Four black sex links, two Easter eggers. I hated the tufts on the Ee but surprisingly they are my favorites growing up. Everyone is 3-4 weeks old. We lost one SLW last week very sad. They are fun.

Silkies do terrible in our climate anyway unless you keep them in a covered hutch. Their feathers are not waterproof, and their leg fuzz gets all muddy and they just look miserable most of the year.

Black Australorps do AWESOME here in the NW. They're a giant heavy bodied layer. They are super dog tame and very mellow with smaller birds so tend not to be bullies. They're great layers, and because they are heavier bodied than leghorns and other traditional layers they produce more consistently in cold weather.

Sex links in general, and the "star" laying varieties are all really good producers. The ones I've had were really good natured too.

Barred rocks can get tame, I've noticed they tend to be more "bitey". They don't run up and attack by any means, but when you're handling them they'll just peck and bite at you. Not enough to bother and adult but something to think about if you have little kids that want to play with the birds.

Some more exotic birds that are good layers:

Speckled sussex, also a good table bird

There are lots of leghorn color varieties. They're a good old standard chicken. A lot of the phoenix in the USA are good layers because the original onagadori imports were saved by a leghorn breeder named Daniel Boone, who crossed them with his show birds to eliminate some terminal genetic diseases. If you're getting only hens, they don't have the long dragging tales and they tend to be more mellow than pure leghorns.

Egyptian fayoumis are reported to be incredible early layers, have never owned them so I can't report any personal experience.

Then there are some that are just pretty. Black sumatras have ancestry that goes back to red and green junglefowl. I find them to be a lot more intelligent than the majority of farm chickens. Plus their feathers have an incredibly beautiful rainbow sheen like you see on an oil slick. They get really personable with handling and my hens were pretty good layers and great moms.

If you want colorful eggs there are a lot of mixed chickens out there without the face tufts too. If you cross an araucana with a white egg layer you will get blue egg laying birds. Crossed with a brown egg layer will give you green eggs. Check craigslist and you might find someone with a mixed flock selling pullets or chicks that fit what you're looking for.

Limited by city rules to 3 production is winning out. Limited by city rules, I don't want something too dog like when they stop laying eggs Still tempted by the sex links though, since I can't have a rooster how do you replace a chick in 4mo. With an pullet? Probably shouldn't raise a single chick.

CL does not have a lot of chicken related things right now. I don't expect they'll have a lot of pullets soon.